12th-13th November 2020, The Belfry – Wishaw, Warwickshire

Speakers at the hee forum 2020

LSE Centre Building Project

In October 2013, following an International Design Competition, RSHP were appointed help the LSE realise their ambitious brief for a new teaching and faculty building which would embody the values of the institution by promoting collaboration and excellence.

RSHP partner and project Lead Tracy Meller proposes to talk about the journey that has taken them from concept to completed building.

The Impact of Accommodation Environments on Student Mental Health and Wellbeing.

There is increasing concern over student mental health & wellbeing and the importance of creating suitable living environments which enable students to thrive has never been more relevant.

Galliford Try and Scott Brownrigg commissioned a roundtable discussion involving university estate managers, student accommodation operators and wellbeing professionals and have published “Impact of accommodation environments on student mental health and wellbeing” a comprehensive report.

Department for Education driving Modern Methods of Construction

Scott Tacchi, Head of Modern Method of Construction, Department for Education.

Scott Tacchi, Head of Modern Methods of Construction, Department for Education will be giving a presentation on how MMC is being integrated as core strategy for delivery of modern schools. At the beginning of January, the Department for Education (DfE) launched its new £3bn DfE Offsite Framework, also known as the MMC1 framework, following completion of the evaluation of tenders.

The new framework is next step in the evolution of offsite construction of school buildings following on from the previous successful DfE Modular frameworks. The framework will utilise the next generation design in standardised school design which builds on earlier component design approach to offsite construction and incorporates the changes to the standard Output Specification (OS).

Delivering Sustainable Modular Construction

A presentation to change the perception of modular construction within the education estate. By showcasing value for money through DFMA, reduced construction waste, reduced carbon emissions, reduced programme times, all coupled with exciting architectural design.

“It’s So Funny, How We Don’t Talk Anymore” – How can we balance wellbeing and social interaction with our advancing use of technology?

Aaron Taylor, Principal and Education Sector Lead, Stantec.

With technology advancing at an exponential rate, we are challenged in predicting which tools and types of spaces are required to support learning in future generations.

We will explore ways that innovative new workplace environments integrate the use of technology with flexible, multi-purpose spaces for collaboration, quiet time and social interaction. Breaking the cycle of merely plugging technology into traditional environments but seeking how technology has enabled new approaches to learning, ideas and collaboration.

Wellbeing and social interaction must be key drivers, balancing the opportunities for human contact with an ability to find personal space to suit the individual.

Stargazing: Predicting the needs and behaviours of our future residents

Bobbi Hartshorne, Global Head of Student Wellbeing and External Relations, GSA Group

Taking insights from several Gen Z articles and emerging trends in other industries we will explore how these could translate into the higher education world. Combining this with our early experience of this generation in the past 3-years, we will forecast what demands they might place on us, particularly in reference to their accommodation requirement.

As HE becomes increasingly globalised, how can Universities and accommodation operators adapt their product and service offering to meet the needs of this globally homogenous generation whilst balancing their cultural differences?

Looking closer to home, how will our domestic student body change its behaviours and what could we do to support them over the coming 5-10 years?

Space – Changing demands

George Griffith, Head of University Consulting, CBRE.

The University sector continues to spend on capital development, and is seeing continued rises in the cost of maintaining the estate. That estate is changing too. Universities want different types of space as the demands put on that space change. But it’s the users too, they’re expecting something different, and it is changing the way space works.

This presentation explores the changing costs associated with university estate, looks at the changing requirements from users, how universities are adapting to different delivery methods, and what this means in terms of physical changes.

It does not give the answer, but highlights the way that institutions are trying to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of HE Estates.

Communal Space Regeneration in Student Accommodation

Tom Martin, Head of Residency Living – Universities, Sodexo.

At the leading edge of science: the new Cavendish Laboratory

Arguably the most famous physics laboratory in the world, the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge has pioneered some of the fundamental discoveries in science over the last 140 years. Their new home, the £214m Ray Dolby Centre, is currently under construction on the University’s West Cambridge campus and will house state of the art cleanrooms, laboratories, workshops, offices, teaching and collaboration spaces.

Jestico + Whiles’ Associate Director and lead Architect Julian Dickens will present how the design evolved in response to such an architecturally and technically challenging brief.